The boy was walking through the village, chained up and pulled by some men in the sunset. The nine-year-old girl saw them as the lugubrious group crossed the road at the end of the alley she was in. The boy had old and fresh scars all over. He was bruised, and bleeding from small but numerous wounds. He had a blank expression, and even seemed out of his body. Where he passed, people were moving aside, looking at him with disdain, spiting, putting hate into violent words. She was feeling bad. She was sad. Her heart was aching. She wanted to help him or, at least, talk to him. But she was scared of the adults around him. One day, Ri Ah passed in front of the basement. It was outside of the village and forbidden to approach. Nonetheless, she decided to take a detour as she went to pick flowers for her mother's shop. To her surprise, no one was guarding the entrance. As she got closer, she noticed the door wasn't even locked. It was slightly open. She took the last step to the door. Pushed it. And walked down the stairs carefully. Inside, the boy was lying down, perfectly still. Ri Ah didn't know if he was asleep, or unconscious. She just approached him slowly and called, “Hey, you.” The boy woke up immediately. He suddenly leaped to his feet and pulled his small, balled hands up. Ri Ah hid her surprise. She gave him a small smile and looked down at him gently, trying to be reassuring. “Are you okay?” He frowned and glared at her. Ri Ah gulped. She knew it was a stupid question but she didn't know what else to say. She averted her gaze to look around. The basement was like a cage. It was gloom, there were rats, and a plate filled with a thing that looked like dog food. It was completely untouched, which explained why the boy was so skinny. It was horrifying. Why were things like that? “I'm Oh Ri Ah,” declared the girl as she sat down in front of him. “I would like to know your name.” The boy observed her warily. “I don't have a name,” he then said. “Why did you come?” His tone was threatening. But Ri Ah felt and saw by his unchanging position he was actually scared. “I just wanted to meet you.” He tilted his head at this and his fists loosened a little. “How old are you?” “... Nine... I think...” “You think?” “I've been here since I was born.” “But where are your parents?” “They died soon after I was born. I killed them.” “Huh? Weren't you a baby?” “Yes. But I bring misfortune.” “Is that why the adults started saying you were a demon child?” “That and...” The boy paused. He grabbed a lock of the scarlet hair that were falling over his eyes and looked at it. “My hair.” As he spoke, he wondered why he was telling all this to a villager, who probably hated him and found him disgusting. Like all the others. Letting go of his hair, he stared back at the girl. Surprisingly, Ri Ah frowned and exclaimed, “I don't believe it! People don't bring misfortune, that's ridiculous!” She then stood up and approached him. “You're not the child of any demon. You're just you.” Her hand reached out to pat his head with soft caresses. “And your hair are beautiful. Although they could use a cut!” She ruffled his hair as she spoke. The boy just looked at her with eyes like saucers. Ri Ah grinned brightly. He didn’t want to believe her but he did. He trusted her. Tears tickled the corner of his eyes. The boy pushed her hand away, a bit more violently than he intended actually, and span to show her his back. He pressed his palms against his eyelids, trying hard to hold back a sob. Ri Ah understood immediately, no matter how much he tried to hide it. He was crying. She decided to change the subject. She sat back down and said, “Well! I asked you a lot of question, now it's your turn!” The boy sniffled and rubbed his eyes. He turned around, slowly. “Aren't you scared of me?” “Not at all!” She shook her head. He seemed to ponder over something before sitting in front of her. “You're a villager, right?” “Mmh.” “How do you live?” “How... I... I live in a house with... my mom and my dad...” The girl fidgeted with her fingers. She looked at him sadly but the boy didn't pay attention. “Can you tell me about the outside?” he asked. Surprised, Ri Ah stuttered, “Y-Yes, of course!” but beamed a smile at him nonetheless.